Chula Vista finds money for recreation, police

Chula Vista  Despite continued revenue shortfalls, Chula Vista’s budget for next year includes an additional $240,000 for community recreation programs, $60,000 to help fill a funding gap for the city’s Domestic Violence Response Team and an extra $80,000 for the Police Department.

The City Council passed a $124 million balanced budget for 2012-2013 on Thursday, just two days before the June 30 deadline set in the city’s charter. The meeting lasted nearly six hours, a large part of which was spent discussing the controversial decision to consolidate the library and recreation departments.

Earlier in June, Deputy Mayor Steve Castaneda and Councilman Rudy Ramirez predicted that the consolidation could save about $300,000 to go to community recreation programs. Recreation Director Buck Martin was fired in the wake of a June 19 vote on the matter, but the council backpedaled this week. They decided to delay the merger by several months until it has been vetted among community groups, and hire an assistant director to head up the department in the interim.

The additional funding for recreation programs will come from three sources: $60,000 in salary savings from firing Recreation Director Buck Martin and hiring an assistant director to replace him; $80,000 in reserve funds that the council originally planned to set aside for one of two unnamed potential ballot measures in the future; $100,000 from city employee salary cuts.

“I hope in time we are able to see this as an improvement and a way of preparing ourselves for the future and as a fiscally important and prudent course of action,” Ramirez told his colleagues and the full chamber.

The council disregarded a news release from the Chula Vista Police Officers Association requesting 20 more police officers, and instead approved a comprehensive operations and staffing plan from police Chief David Bejarano. His plan is based on findings of a recent report and is expected to cost only $80,000 while increasing proactive time for police officers from 22 percent to the recommended level of 40 percent.

The police force accounts for about 35 percent of the city’s general fund budget.

The $80,000 will add two and a half community service officer positions to the Police Department payroll, and the council signed off on a request to add two peace officers as well, bringing the total police force up to 218 officers. The additions will be able to help with administrative duties.

Finally, $60,000 for the Domestic Violence Response Team will come out of the city’s reserve funds and go to South Bay Community Services. The nonprofit organization lost $170,000 in federal and state funding for the response service it provides for the city when the Police Department missed the deadline to apply. The program supports police operations by providing first responders on the sites of domestic disturbances.

City Manager Jim Sandoval said the additional measure is unnecessary because of the other measures the Police Department is taking to increase its efficiency.